What it does. Runs Nikto, an open-source web server and web application scanner, Part of mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills (817 security skills) (mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills).

Install

• npx skills add mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills --skill performing-web-application-scanning-with-nikto, or copy the skill folder into ~/.claude/skills/performing-web-application-scanning-with-nikto/.
• Raw file: curl -sL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills/HEAD/skills/performing-web-application-scanning-with-nikto/SKILL.md

SKILL.md (verbatim)

name: performing-web-application-scanning-with-nikto
description: Runs Nikto, an open-source web server and web application scanner,
  to test over 7,000 potentially dangerous files/programs, check for outdated versions
  across 1,250+ servers, and identify XSS, SQL injection, misconfigurations, default
  credentials, and vulnerable CGI scripts. Use when performing web application vulnerability
  scanning, security assessments, scheduled security testing, or validating web
  server security controls.
domain: cybersecurity
subdomain: vulnerability-management
tags:
- vulnerability-management
- cve
- nikto
- web-scanning
- owasp
- risk
version: '1.0'
author: mahipal
license: Apache-2.0
nist_csf:
- ID.RA-01
- ID.RA-02
- ID.IM-02
- ID.RA-06
mitre_attack:
- T1190
- T1203
- T1068

Performing Web Application Scanning with Nikto

Overview

Nikto is an open-source web server and web application scanner that tests against over 7,000 potentially dangerous files/programs, checks for outdated versions of over 1,250 servers, and identifies version-specific problems on over 270 servers. It performs comprehensive tests including XSS, SQL injection, server misconfigurations, default credentials, and known vulnerable CGI scripts.

When to Use

• When conducting security assessments that involve performing web application scanning with nikto
• When following incident response procedures for related security events
• When performing scheduled security testing or auditing activities
• When validating security controls through hands-on testing

Prerequisites

• Nikto installed (Perl-based, included in Kali Linux)
• Written authorization to scan target web servers
• Network access to target web applications
• Understanding of HTTP/HTTPS protocols

Core Concepts

What Nikto Detects

• Server misconfigurations and dangerous default files
• Outdated server software versions with known CVEs
• Common CGI vulnerabilities and dangerous scripts
• Default credentials and admin pages
• HTTP methods that should be disabled (PUT, DELETE, TRACE)
• SSL/TLS misconfigurations and weak ciphers
• Missing security headers (X-Frame-Options, CSP, HSTS)
• Information disclosure through headers and error pages

Nikto vs Other Web Scanners

Workflow

Step 1: Basic Scanning

# Basic scan against a target
nikto -h https://target.example.com

# Scan specific port
nikto -h target.example.com -p 8443

# Scan multiple ports
nikto -h target.example.com -p 80,443,8080,8443

# Scan with SSL enforcement
nikto -h target.example.com -ssl

# Scan from a host list file
nikto -h targets.txt

Step 2: Advanced Scanning Options

# Comprehensive scan with all tuning options
nikto -h https://target.example.com \
  -Tuning 123456789abcde \
  -timeout 10 \
  -Pause 2 \
  -Display V \
  -output report.html \
  -Format htm

# Tuning options control test types:
# 0 - File Upload
# 1 - Interesting File / Seen in logs
# 2 - Misconfiguration / Default File
# 3 - Information Disclosure
# 4 - Injection (XSS/Script/HTML)
# 5 - Remote File Retrieval - Inside Web Root
# 6 - Denial of Service
# 7 - Remote File Retrieval - Server Wide
# 8 - Command Execution / Remote Shell
# 9 - SQL Injection
# a - Authentication Bypass
# b - Software Identification
# c - Remote Source Inclusion
# d - WebService
# e - Administrative Console

# Scan with specific tuning (XSS + SQL injection + auth bypass)
nikto -h https://target.example.com -Tuning 49a

# Scan with authentication
nikto -h https://target.example.com -id admin:password

# Scan through a proxy
nikto -h https://target.example.com -useproxy http://proxy:8080

# Scan with custom User-Agent
nikto -h https://target.example.com -useragent "Mozilla/5.0 (Security Scan)"

# Scan specific CGI directories
nikto -h https://target.example.com -Cgidirs /cgi-bin/,/scripts/

# Evasion techniques (IDS avoidance for authorized testing)
# 1-Random URI encoding, 2-Directory self-reference
# 3-Premature URL ending, 4-Prepend long random string
nikto -h https://target.example.com -evasion 1234

Step 3: Output and Reporting

# Generate multiple output formats
nikto -h https://target.example.com -output scan.csv -Format csv
nikto -h https://target.example.com -output scan.xml -Format xml
nikto -h https://target.example.com -output scan.html -Format htm
nikto -h https://target.example.com -output scan.txt -Format txt

# JSON output (newer versions)
nikto -h https://target.example.com -output scan.json -Format json

# Save to multiple formats simultaneously
nikto -h https://target.example.com \
  -output scan_report \
  -Format htm

Step 4: Scan Multiple Targets

# Create targets file (one per line)
cat > targets.txt << 'EOF'
https://app1.example.com
https://app2.example.com:8443
http://internal-app.corp.local
192.168.1.100:8080
EOF

# Scan all targets
nikto -h targets.txt -output multi_scan.html -Format htm

# Parallel scanning with GNU parallel
cat targets.txt | parallel -j 5 "nikto -h {} -output {/}_report.html -Format htm"

Step 5: SSL/TLS Assessment

# Comprehensive SSL scan
nikto -h https://target.example.com -ssl \
  -Tuning b \
  -Display V

# Check for specific SSL vulnerabilities
# Nikto checks for:
# - Expired certificates
# - Self-signed certificates
# - Weak cipher suites
# - SSLv2/SSLv3 enabled
# - BEAST, POODLE, Heartbleed indicators
# - Missing HSTS header

Step 6: Integration with Other Tools

# Pipe Nmap results into Nikto
nmap -p 80,443,8080 --open -oG - 192.168.1.0/24 | \
  awk '/open/{print $2}' | \
  while read host; do nikto -h "$host" -output "${host}_nikto.html" -Format htm; done

# Export to Metasploit-compatible format
nikto -h target.example.com -output msf_import.xml -Format xml

# Parse Nikto XML output with Python for custom reporting
python3 -c "
import xml.etree.ElementTree as ET
tree = ET.parse('scan.xml')
for item in tree.findall('.//item'):
    print(f\"[{item.get('id')}] {item.findtext('description', '')[:100]}\")
"

Interpreting Results

Severity Classification

• OSVDB/CVE References: Cross-reference with NVD for CVSS scores
• Server Information Disclosure: Version banners, technology stack
• Dangerous HTTP Methods: PUT, DELETE, TRACE enabled
• Default/Backup Files: .bak, .old, .swp, web.config.bak
• Admin Interfaces: /admin, /manager, /console exposed
• Missing Security Headers: CSP, X-Frame-Options, HSTS

Common False Positives

• Generic checks triggered by custom 404 pages
• Anti-CSRF tokens flagged as form vulnerabilities
• CDN/WAF responses misidentified as vulnerable
• Load balancer health check pages

Best Practices

1. Always obtain written authorization before scanning
2. Run Nikto in conjunction with application-level scanners (ZAP, Burp)
3. Use -Pause flag to reduce load on production servers
4. Validate findings manually before reporting
5. Combine with SSL testing tools (testssl.sh, sslyze) for comprehensive coverage
6. Schedule regular scans as part of continuous vulnerability management
7. Keep Nikto database updated for latest vulnerability checks
8. Use appropriate evasion settings only for authorized IDS testing

Common Pitfalls

• Running Nikto without authorization (legal liability)
• Treating Nikto as a complete web application scanner (it focuses on server/config issues)
• Not validating results leading to false positive reports
• Scanning too aggressively against production systems
• Ignoring SSL/TLS findings as "informational"

Related Skills

• scanning-infrastructure-with-nessus
• scanning-apis-for-security-vulnerabilities
• performing-network-vulnerability-assessment

Other files in this skill

• LICENSE
• assets/template.md
• references/api-reference.md
• references/standards.md
• references/workflows.md
• scripts/agent.py
• scripts/process.py

assets/template.md (verbatim)

Nikto Web Scan Report Template

Scan Configuration

Server Information

Findings Summary

Detailed Findings

[SEVERITY] - [Finding Title]

• Nikto ID: [ID]
• OSVDB: [OSVDB-ID]
• URI: [/path/found]
• Method: [GET/POST]
• Description: [Detailed finding description]
• Remediation: [Steps to fix]

references/api-reference.md (verbatim)

API Reference: Web Application Scanning with Nikto

Nikto CLI Options

Tuning Categories

XML Output Structure

Python Libraries

References

• Nikto GitHub: https://github.com/sullo/nikto
• Nikto Documentation: https://cirt.net/Nikto2
• OSVDB (archived): https://vulndb.cyberriskanalytics.com/

references/standards.md (verbatim)

Standards and References - Web Application Scanning with Nikto

Industry Standards

• OWASP Testing Guide v4.2: Web application security testing methodology
• NIST SP 800-115: Technical Guide to Information Security Testing and Assessment
• PCI DSS v4.0 Req 6.4: Address common coding vulnerabilities in development
• PCI DSS v4.0 Req 11.3.3: Perform external vulnerability scans via ASV

Nikto Resources

• Nikto GitHub Repository: https://github.com/sullo/nikto
• Nikto Documentation: https://cirt.net/Nikto2
• Nikto Plugin Database: https://github.com/sullo/nikto/tree/master/plugins
• Nikto Cheat Sheet: https://highon.coffee/blog/nikto-cheat-sheet/

Complementary Web Scanning Tools

Nikto Tuning Reference

references/workflows.md (verbatim)

Workflows - Web Application Scanning with Nikto

Workflow 1: Standard Web Server Assessment

┌──────────────┐   ┌──────────────┐   ┌──────────────┐
│ Enumerate    │──>│ Run Nikto    │──>│ Parse XML    │
│ Web Servers  │   │ Scan         │   │ Results      │
│ (Nmap/DNS)   │   │ (-Format xml)│   │              │
└──────────────┘   └──────────────┘   └──────────────┘
                                            │
       ┌───────────────────────────────────┘
       v
┌──────────────┐   ┌──────────────┐   ┌──────────────┐
│ Validate     │──>│ Cross-ref    │──>│ Generate     │
│ Findings     │   │ with NVD     │   │ Report       │
│ (Manual)     │   │ (CVE/CVSS)   │   │              │
└──────────────┘   └──────────────┘   └──────────────┘

Workflow 2: CI/CD Integration

Code Push → Build → Deploy to Staging
                         │
                    Run Nikto Scan
                         │
                 ┌───────┴───────┐
                 │               │
            No Findings    Findings Found
                 │               │
            Deploy to       Block Deploy
            Production      Notify Team

Workflow 3: Multi-Tool Web Assessment

1. Nikto: Server configuration and known vulnerability checks
2. OWASP ZAP: Application logic and dynamic analysis
3. testssl.sh: Comprehensive SSL/TLS assessment
4. Nuclei: Template-based CVE validation
5. Manual Testing: Validate and verify all findings
6. Consolidated Report: Merge results from all tools

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